UN: 'We must realistically assess situation' in Afghanistan
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UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in New York Thursday that "we must realistically assess the situation and put in place more effective projections" for the UN staff in Afghanistan, following a Wednesday attack killed at least five UN staff members in the Afghan capital of Kabul.
The secretary-general made the statement as he was speaking to the press here after he reported to a closed-door meeting of the UN Security Council on the terrorist attacks in Kabul that also wounded nine others.
"Not counting (UN) peacekeepers, 27 UN civilian personnel have lost their lives to violence so far this year, more than half of them in Afghanistan and Pakistan," Ban said.
"Increasingly, the United Nations is being targeted. In this case, precisely because of our support for the Afghan elections," he said.
"We are not deterred," Ban said. "But we can not do it alone, we need support of the member states."
"We must realistically assess the situation and put in place more effective projections for our staff as they perform their crucial tasks," he said. "This was the main purpose of my briefing to the Security Council."
The 15-nation Security Council began its consultations behind closed door on Afghanistan after hearing the report by the secretary-general.
"The UN is a civilian operation," he said. "We are working there to help Afghanistan's people but our mission is not safe and (is) vulnerable."
"We need full support of the Afghanistan government and the international community," said the secretary-general.
"This morning I received a phone call from President (Hamid) Karzai of Afghanistan who assured me of the tightened security support for UNAMA (the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan) and I urged him again that he should take immediate action to strengthen the security measures for the premises and staff, for their safety and security," Ban said.
The secretary-general said that he convened an urgent meeting of the heads of all UN departments, funds and programs, and agencies on Thursday morning "to review the evolving security environment and respond appropriately."
"I am going to chair the Chief Executive Board meeting tomorrow to discuss this matter where the heads of UN funds and programs, specialized agencies and Bretton Woods institutions will all participate to discuss the security issues," he said.
"This afternoon, I asked the Security Council for support," Ban said.
"Tomorrow, I plan to brief the General Assembly," he said. "I will ask for expedited action for our security measures, so that we can meet the dramatically escalated threat to UN staff, now widely considered to be a 'soft target', as well as provide support for victims and their families," he said.
"Second round of the Afghan presidential election is only a week away," he said. "As I told the Security Council, we are considering a number of immediate short-term measures."
"Those include consolidating UN staff in Kabul and around the country," he said. "We are exploring the feasibility of bringing in additional security units to guard UN facilities and will ask the) international community to step up its support."
"This will be particularly important during the interim election period, with a special emphasis on areas outside Kabul where UN security is clearly insufficient," he said.
"It's a joint effort of trying to find solutions to the security issues we confront not only in Afghanistan, but also elsewhere," Michele Montas, the spokesperson for the UN secretary-general, told reporters.
Asked whether it is possible that the Nov. 7 presidential run-off election in Afghanistan could be put off, Montas said, "As far as I know, no."
The closed meeting could touch on the security issue in Afghanistan, one day after the deadly raid in Kabul, and the precarious security situation in Pakistan would also be discussed, UN diplomats said here.
"I condemn this shocking and shameless act, and the terrorists who committed this crime," Ban told a press conference here on Wednesday. "It is unjustifiable by any standard."
"If any thing, this incident should remind us how tough our job is," he said. "Our people work, often selflessly, in the most dangerous places in the world."
Five UN staff were killed and nine wounded after militants attacked a UN guest house in Kabul on Wednesday morning. At least 25 UN staff members were there, including 17 women and men of the UN Development Program's election team, Ban said.
"We will, of course, review our security procedures, as we do regularly for the Afghanistan mission as a whole," he said. "We will take all necessary measures to protect our staff."
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